Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a fixing apparatus that fixes a toner image formed on a recording material using an electrophotographic recording technology by melting the toner image with heat.
Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices such as copiers and printers that use electrophotographic recording technology are equipped with a fixing apparatus that fixes a toner image formed on a recording material to the recording material by melting the toner image with heat. In recent years, many electrophotographic toner includes release wax as the constituent material thereof. The wax is added to adjust the gloss of the image and the dispersibility of the pigment, and to prevent the toner from being offset.
It is known that release wax vaporizes when heated. When the vaporized component adheres to a conveyance guide in the image forming apparatus, it becomes a conveyance resistance, and when adhered to a conveyance roller, it becomes a cause of decrease in friction coefficient of the roller lowering the conveyance performance, leading to problems such as sheet jamming and the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-249874 discloses a technique of suppressing the amount of vaporized component going out of a fixing apparatus.